How should I respond to personal injustice? - Injustice - TouchPoints

Psalm 17:1O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from an honest heart.

Psalm 35:24-28Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles. Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!” May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor. But give great joy to those who came to my defense. Let them continually say, “Great is the Lord, who delights in blessing his servant with peace!” Then I will proclaim your justice, and I will praise you all day long.

Psalm 119:149In your faithful love, O Lord, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your regulations.

Go to God in honest prayer. Ask him for justice. Too often we tell everyone about our injustice except God.

Proverbs 20:22Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.

Wait patiently for God to work; take no revenge. We don’t always understand God’s timing, but we must trust it to be right.

Matthew 5:39-45But I say, don’t resist an evil person! If you are slapped on the right cheek, turn the other, too. If you are ordered to court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too.

Love your enemy. Practically, begin by praying for the person inflicting injustice on you. At the very least, praying for your enemy might not change your enemy but it will change you.

1 Peter 3:14But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t be afraid and don’t worry.

Do not allow fear and worry to overcome you, so that you do not double the burden of injustice.

Matthew 27:12-14But when the leading priests and other leaders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. “Don’t you hear their many charges against you?” Pilate demanded. But Jesus said nothing, much to the governor’s great surprise.

Luke 12:11-12“And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about what to say in your defense, for the Holy Spirit will teach you what needs to be said even as you are standing there.

Look to God for guidance as to when to speak and what to say.

1 Corinthians 6:7To have such lawsuits at all is a real defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?

1 Peter 2:19For God is pleased with you when, for the sake of your conscience, you patiently endure unfair treatment.

Be willing to endure the earthly injustice. Some things will not change until we get to heaven and ultimate justice is determined. You may be a victim of earthly injustice. If you are, then the real test is how you react to it as a Christian.

Psalm 37:34Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed.

Isaiah 56:1“Be just and fair to all,” says the Lord. “Do what is right and good, for I am coming soon to rescue you.”

1 Peter 2:12, 15Be careful how you live among your unbelieving neighbors. Even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will believe and give honor to God when he comes to judge the world . . . It is God’s will that your good lives should silence those who make foolish accusations against you.

Continue on in obedience to God and his Word. Another person’s bad behavior is no excuse to disobey God.

Genesis 45:4-8“Come over here,” he said. So they came closer. And he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives. These two years of famine will grow to seven, during which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive so that you will become a great nation. Yes, it was God who sent me here, not you! And he has made me a counselor to Pharaoh—manager of his entire household and ruler over all Egypt.”

Psalm 101:1I will sing of your love and justice. I will praise you, Lord, with songs.

Proverbs 2:8He guards the paths of justice and protects those who are faithful to him.

Allow God to work, look for God at work, and acknowledge God’s work.